Extension sought in settlement for Salina site

Officials from Salina and the federal government want more time to finalize a proposed financial settlement for cleaning up contamination at a former Air Force base.

Associated Press

Officials from Salina and the federal government want more time to finalize a proposed financial settlement for cleaning up contamination at a former Air Force base.

Lawyers for the city and the Justice Department on Monday asked a federal judge to set a Feb. 13 deadline for final approval of the proposed settlement. The previous deadline was Tuesday.

Schilling Air Force base closed in the 1960s, then became part of the city and home to the Salina airport. Salina officials filed suit in 2010 to recoup the cost of cleaning up the leftover pollution, which includes TCE, or trichloroethylene.

TCE was used as an industrial solvent and has since been classified as a human carcinogen.